Social Media Myths & Difficulties

Alex and I have a similar philosophy when it comes to social media. It's one that I believe reflects how much we have embraced this form of communication and interaction with others in a public space. 

I'm not sure there is anything I can add to Alex's last post in terms of what it means to be authentic online, so I thought I would add to this conversation by sharing the difficulties I find many people have when working to embrace this new communication channel. Here are just a few of them:

I want to keep my private and professional lives separate.

I am afraid that ship has sailed. I can't tell you how many people have opened up more than one account and profile on the various platforms in an attempt to completely separate these areas of their lives. But what happens is it simply causes all kinds of confusion in their minds and much more to maintain on the sites themselves, which of course, they soon fail to do and end up looking like they're dead. Plus, when they realize they can't keep it up they have followers or friends on each of these different accounts and trying to get them all in one place brings about a whole new challenge. 

I don't care what people are eating for lunch and I don't want to share that.

You don't have to share what you're having for lunch. Why this statement has become such a shared negative view about social media is beyond me. I don't know that I have ever shared what I'm eating. However, at times when someone posts what their meal is, or even takes a picture of it, I sometimes find that rather interesting, particularly if it's a new restaurant that I might want to sample. Is it an important piece of information to know? No. Is it going to impact the world in some way? No. It's just a little peek into someone else's world that can be intriguing. Besides, one of the reasons I think reality television is so popular is that as human beings we really like knowing what other people are up to. I'm sure there has been research done on this. However, this statement is simply my opinion.

It's a fad that is going to go away.

That's a good one. For those in business, don't be surprised if you're out of business in a couple of years.

What do you mean I'm broadcasting and not engaging?

Back in the "olden days" and by that I mean a few years ago, businesses paid a lot of money to have commercials produced and then aired. In the case of magazines and newspapers, it would be ads created and placed. These commercials were all about "me me me" whereas now with social media when you talk about your business it needs to be about them. Even more than that, it has to engage them. There is a two-way conversation that needs to happen. We covered much of this in week 1 so I know you know what I'm getting at here. 

What do you mean spraying all over someone's wall is like spray painting their front door?

Do you remember when your friends or family were just getting online and all they could do was forward jokes and share warnings about disasters that were actually urban legends? Well, whenever we start something new there is a learning curve. Social media is the same way, so some begin by "broadcasting" what they're up to on your wall without even asking, e.g., someone I know with a new book posted that fact along with a link to their Amazon page where my friends could buy a copy. Not cool. I make the comparison that doing this is like driving by someone's house and spray painting all over their front door. You wouldn't do that right? So doing it on someone's wall isn't OK either. (This is a point of etiquette.) Oh, and by the way, some people never really get this even when they are beyond the early learning stages.

I want to tie all my accounts together so that I can post one thing and it goes out to all the platforms.

I understand wanting to do this, but it's really a bad idea. Each platform has its own culture so when I see people do this, it screams amateur to me. Maybe that's too harsh, but that's how I seem to react. Nothing looks worse to me that seeing someone tweet with a bunch of hash tags and links posted on Facebook. It's just wrong.

If I were to summarize my philosophy for getting involved in social media it would come down to this: There is a lot to be said for observing before reaching out and connecting online. Some call it lurking and a little lurking just to get an idea of the culture of a platform is a really good idea. Then begin to engage when you are ready. 

We'd be very interested in hearing how your philosophy of social media is growing and developing. Go ahead and add any of your thoughts below.